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Specs, Features and Package The Pentax Optio 33LF is a 3.34 MP (3.2 MP effective) digital camera that captures images at resolutions ranging from 640 x 480 pixels to a maximum of 2048 x 1536 pixels at 12-bit colour depth in three different quality modes. The lens (5.8 mm - 17.4 mm; equivalent to a 38 - 114 mm lens in 35 mm format) has a 3x optical zoom and a 2.7x digital zoom to give a combined zoom of 8.1x, which is a bit less compared to other 3.2 MP cameras available in the market. But at the end of the day, it?s the optical zoom that counts. Videos can be captured at 320 x 240 pixel resolution at 16 fps, but unfortunately without sound. The 1/2.7 inch interline transfer CCD sensor has a proper RGB color filter array for sharper capture of colours. 
A new feature included in the Optio 33LF is the swiveling LCD monitor. While most cameras have the LCD screen fixed, this camera?s 1.6-inch monitor (72,000 pixels) can rotate 180 degrees horizontally and 270 degrees vertically for different viewing angles. This provision is extremely useful in conditions where you just cannot view images directly from your viewfinder or might find it too difficult to position the camera to frame the object. Shooting self-portraits may be the most useful thing with this swivel monitor, but I am very sure your eyeballs may get captured looking in the wrong direction when you try it for the first time. The only other digital camera to support this feature is the Canon PowerShot A80 and that?s 4.0 MP digicam. The optical viewfinder allows you to save power by switching off the LCD monitor, which actually turns off automatically when you keep it closed. A crosshair within this viewfinder would have been even better. 
The Optio 33 LF has seven picture modes - Portrait, Self-portrait, Flower, Sunset, Landscape, Surf, and Snow. The other modes include Night mode, Panorama and Digital Filters (Red, Blue, Green, B&W, Sepia and other combinations) to give that extra advantage while shooting. Other variable features include exposure settings (-2.0 to +2.0), Flash, 5-point auto-focus and spot focus, metering, auto sensitivity (ISO 100-400) and a shutter speed of 1/2000th - 2 seconds and white balance. Absence of the sport mode was a small disappointment for me. Weighing just 175g without battery, this camera has a dimension of 108.5 (W) x 64.5 (H) x 41.5 (D) mm. It comes with a USB cable, CD software, user manual, and cables to view images or video clippings on the big screen via the Video out (NTSC/PAL). The camera operates on two AA batteries. Performance From what we saw in the Pentax Optio S, we expected this one to give the same performance. The results, however, were a mixed bag. The built-in 12 MB memory can capture only 5 images (JPEG format) at the maximum resolution in the finest mode. There is room for comfort with the SD slot provided for extra storage space. Although the navigational keys are bigger this time, a joystick keypad would have been preferred. The menu is easily accessible and also gives you other options like viewing world times of almost 62 cities as well as 8 languages to choose from. Images The overall image capture was very neat with little smudges or blur on the edges. Although not as sharp compared to the likes of Canon, this camera gives very good results in the colour reproduction tests. The red colour was picked up very well in different light conditions and one could easily differentiate between bright red and maroon. In certain situations, the red picked up was too bright. The sharpness and texture detail of green leaves shot in macro mode was very visible.
One noticeable flaw with this camera is that it does not seem to pick up the white colour too well. There were streaks of green and violet colours present when you zoom into the image, especially that of white buildings. The camera captured oil paintings done on glass to a very good extent capturing most of the colours very well. The zoom was fitting producing what is expected from most cameras with 3x optical zoom. There were no signs of streaks or jaggedness once you zoom into this image. Minute details were also captured to good effect. During playback mode, one can magnify up to a range of 12x.
The Program mode gives you the option to choose the exposure settings, view the image in the 3 x 3 grid and also a graphical bar, which decides the metering level. The night scene mode also gives you a decent clarity with the flash on. During the self-portrait mode, the self-timer turns out to be the useful feature as it gives a countdown of the seconds and makes sure you can get your image captured at the right moment. The battery?s performance is just about satisfactory lasting for about 30 photos with the flash on. But ideally, it would be better to use rechargeable batteries and keep the flash off to save battery power. Video The video clips are captured at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels at 16 fps and are stored in AVI format (motion JPEG). The camera has a 54 second video limit. The 12 MB memory is good enough, but a lesser resolution should have also been provided. Once again, the LCD monitor comes very handy while shooting videos. Video clippings can also be shot at the maximum zoom (optical and digital), but the clarity might be lost. There was little lag on the LCD screen and the overall response was just about satisfactory. Conclusion The Pentax Optio 33 LF is a very good competitor to the likes of the Nikon 3100 and Kodak 6330 and captures quality photos with its various modes. The swivel LCD monitor is a new and very useful feature found in very few other cameras and the overall colour reproduction of this camera is very good. Even though the MRP of this camera is Rs. 19,890, you can get it for Rs. 17500 on the streets. At this price, however, you can get a Canon Powershot A80 or the Fuji FinePix S5000, which have much more features, higher optical zoom and also voice recording. If Pentax, a very popular brand abroad, wants to capture the Indian audience in the digital camera segment, it needs to reduce its pricing strategy. Test Unit Sourced From: Allied Photographics India Limited, Mumbai
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